In 1985 my father was posted in Akhnoor, Jammu (a border area) and thus couldn`t take his family along. Back then, I was 10 years old and was studying in the fifth standard. Every month, my father would send Rs 1500 to my mother, who would then manage the four-member family (me, my two sisters … Read more
The first birthday celebration of mine that I remember is when I was in class four and we were in Kholapur, Maharashtra. Those were the days when non-Maharashtrians could also live in Maharashtra. I remember my father taking me to a small time smuggler operating out of his house to buy me a nice pair … Read more
Year 1997 was a watershed in my life. I was adjudged Tamil Nadu`s second best Naval NCC Cadet (don`t ask me why I wasn`t the first – even my father didn`t dare ask), I spent seven days in UK and three months in Canada. We will leave my Canadian sojourn for now and focus only … Read more
In the last few days Rekha and I have been on warpath. Domestic terrorism, if you want to call it so. Being the mother that she is, she has been trying to get my daughter to say ‘amma.` In case you didn`t know…‘amma` in Tamil means mother. That wouldn`t be much of an issue if … Read more
I have immense respect for barbers. I remember paying Rs 5 and getting my hair cut as a child. I would be provided a plank to sit on and a green cloth (probably stolen from a nearby hospital) would spread around me. Seeing myself in the mirror was a treat – if you were as … Read more
Yesterday I took my grandmother to a hospital nearby. She had been coughing the whole night and I thought if I could fix her a meeting with the 65-year-old general physician nearby, she would be happy. My grandma had a ball of a time. The doctor held her hand (he said he was checking the … Read more
“My grandma`s little brownie ass,” said a friend trying to control his anger. “What?” I expressed my shock as much with the way I uttered the word, as with my contorted facial expression. My friend would later explain that in order to be regarded as a gentleman in the office he had stopped swearing. Whenever … Read more
Like me, my father has also been a story teller. When young, he told me a story about how one day, somebody told him about a restaurant where one could just eat and get out without paying. Apparently, the restaurant owner would take down your name and address and get the bill amount from your … Read more